OVP: Robredo OK with being inoculated to show vaccines are safe

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Leni Robredo was willing to be vaccinated against COVID-19 but has concurred with the government’s policy to prioritize giving the shots to health workers, her spokesperson said.

Lawyer Barry Gutierrez explained on Tuesday that Robredo — who was dared several times to have herself vaccinated first — really wanted to set an example that vaccines are safe for use.

But such plans were abandoned when the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) issued guidelines requiring health workers to be vaccinated first.

“Actually, kung siya ang unang magpapabakuna—matagal nang sinabi ni VP Leni na kung kailangan, kung siya ay sasabihan na mauna siya para lalong ma-inspire ang ating mga kababayan, mabigyan ng kumpiyansa na magpabakuna, gagawin niya,” Gutierrez said in an interview with Bombo Radyo Iloilo.

(Actually, if she would be the first to be vaccinated — she has long said that if needed, if she would be told that she would go first to inspire other Filipinos, to raise confidence in the vaccination program, she would do it.)

“Pero noong dumating iyong mga vaccines, ang sabi ng IATF, hindi raw bibigyan ng bakuna itong mga public officials. Uunahin daw ang mga frontliners. So ginagalang naman niya kung anong klaseng polisiya ng IATF,” he added.

(However, when the vaccines arrived, the IATF announced that no vaccines would be offered to public officials. Priority will be given to the frontliners. So she respected that decision and policy from the IATF.)

Last January 19, before the donated COVID-19 vaccines arrived in the country, Senator Bong Go — President Rodrigo Duterte’s former aide and his close ally — challenged Robredo to get herself vaccinated in order to raise public confidence in the vials.

Go said that Robredo could do it publicly either after President Duterte or alongside him. Duterte, on the other hand, has yet to obtain his own COVID-19 vaccine shot since the vaccines currently available — those from Sinovac Biotech and AstraZeneca — are not approved for people aged 60 and up.

READ: Go dares Robredo: Get immunized to inspire public trust in Covid vaccines 

READ: Robredo ready to receive COVID-19 vaccine in public – spokesman 

Due to this regulation, Duterte has then dared Robredo to have herself vaccinated first, as the vaccines’ maximum age requirement does not cover her.

READ: Duterte dares Robredo to get vaccinated first 

Robredo is not the only elected official who volunteered for vaccination but was not allowed to do so: when the Sinovac vaccines arrived last March 1, Marikina Mayor Marcelino Teodoro initially said that he wanted to go first to allay fears over the vials.

The national government, however, denied his request.

READ: Marikina mayor says nat’l gov’t turns down his request to get anti-Covid shot 

Currently, vaccine rollout has been found to be slow, with one of the alleged explanations being a lack of confidence in vaccines.

A survey from Pulse Asia released last January 7 found out that nearly half of Filipinos would not have themselves vaccinated against the 2019 novel coronavirus strain even if they are free of charge.

READ: Survey: Nearly 50% of Pinoys shun vaccine

On the other hand, Social Weather Stations’ survey last November said that 66 percent of Filipinos are willing to get a COVID-19 vaccine — higher numbers than Pulse Asia’s results. However, it still shows that over 30 percent do not want themselves immunized.

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